Fuel-line lock



H. E. BIRD.

' FUEL LINE LOCK.

APPLICATION FILED 001216, |918.

Patented July w20..

RICHARD E. BXELQ, 0E* "WECHIT, KANSAS.

Specification of Letters Jatent.

lipatontel'l llnlgv lil,

.implication tiled ctober 1G, 1918. Serial No. 25e/ille.

To all whoin it' may concern lie it known that ll, Brentano E. Brno, a citizen et the 1United `States, residing at lWichita, in the county ot Sedgwick and State ot Kansas, have invented certain new and usefuly improvements in Fuel-Line Locks; and l do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description et' the invention, such as .will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to malte and use the same.

My invention relates to uel-line locks designed to prevent the thett of automobiles, and has particular regard to a device et this character which will continue to function despite any surreptitions severance and reconnection of the gasolene per se, as well as the provision of a lock which may be actuated from the dash of the automobile.

These and other novel features are hereinafter described, embraced within the scope oi" the appended claims, and illustrated in theV accompanying drawings, in WhichF Figure l is a side elevation of the lock attached directly to a conventional type et carbureter.

l? ig. 2 is a perspective view ol" the lock detached.

Fig. 3 isla front elevation of the lock.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the loch.

Fig. 5' is a sectional View taken along lines 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken along 'lines 6-6 of Fig. 3.

` Fig. 7 is a trent elevation of the lock cam,

' and Fig. 8 is a detail View ofthe datent..

Referring more specifically to the draw ings, 5 denotes a casing having-screwthreaded' extensions 6 and 7 at opposite.l

l0, to serve as a chamber for the operative parts ot the lock. @t these, the valve l1y is the most important, and as will be seen upon reference to Figs. 5 and 6, it is of tu-V bular formation, excepting, of course, the solid head l2 Which cooperates with the.'

valve seat 9. The object of the tnbnlar part 13 is to inclose the coil spring let, the outer end of which bears against 'the nut lo., and.

opened by inserting the proper hey in i.

normally constrains the valve toward the 9. To guide the valve at one end, l

make use of a boss l@ and a cap l, while at its opposite end there is provided a small stud 1S on the nut l5 which projects a slight distance within the adjacent end ot the tubular portion of the valve. l also preterably employ a gehen as l5), between the boss 1G and cap l i, to preclude the entrance of gasolene or other fuel into chamber ll).

For actuating the valve, l utilize two separate and distinct means. Une comprises a conventional type oit' lock 2O having its barrel formed with a cam 2l which engages the annular Harige .22 of the valve. lTher other actuating means consists of a detent 23 pivoted transversely of the chamber l0, a spring 24, and a lever 25. @ne end of the detent engages the annular vflange 22 and the other end of the detent contacts with the inner rotund base portion'QG of the lever 9.5 which extends outwardly through the side of the casing. The contacting sin-faces 2? and 28 of the detent and the base ot the lever, and the similar surfaces 29 and 30 of the casing and rotund portion of the lever,

are rounded to permit a universal movement ot the lever, and constant contact ot the lever with the detent, so that regardless oit the position in which the device, as anr en tirety, may be installed, it can be operated with facility. A Wire 3l., cable, chain, or the-like may be attached to the outer tree end of the lever 25 and trained to the dash or other accessible point et the automobile.

fllnderf normal running conditions7 the valve is heldcpen to permit an unrestricted ilovvof". gasolene into the carhnreter. This position of the valve Ais obtained by insertl ling the proper key in the barrel or the loch and turning it until the cam 2l 'tierces the valve Well from its seat, at which moment the lange 22 will become engaged by the detent and be maintained seenrelyA against retrograde movement as exhibited .in Figs..

lll@

5 and @-ancl in actual practice, despite the A most violent vibrations, it has been fennel that this relationship is not disturbed. New

when it is 4desired to leave the car standing, I

thel wire/31 is pulled trom the dash. Through lever 25 the detent is instantly disengagea from' the'flange 22, andthe coil spring lll overcomes the resistance of the loclecam and forces the valve to its seat.

The only way in which the valve can be the lock and resetting the parts, and inasmuch as the proper key is invariably in the possession of the owner or driver of the car, the chances of the car being taken and'operated for any considerable distance by some unauthorized person are reduced to a minimum. The element of theft may be reduced to an almost absolute certainty it thevalve is thrown While the mo'tor is running and in gear just prior to the time a given destination-is reached, for this would cut off the "supply from the main tank and completely exhaust the supply in the float chamber of the carbureter.

Another important feature, as will be found upon inspection ot' Fig. l, is that the invention is applicable directly to the carbureter 32, and not intermediate the ends of the fuel-line pipe, at which latter point that portion of the pipe sustaining the device could be cut out from the line, and the adj acent ends of the line then reconnected by a short piece of rubber tubing--thus easily defeating the very object of the invention.

1. A device of the character described, comprising a casing having abore extending therethrough, a valve for said bore, said valve having a anged base, a locking cam designed for engagement with a portion, of i said base, and a detent adapted for engagement with another portion of said base.

2. A device of the characterfdescribed, comprising a casing having a bore extending therethrough, a valve for said bore, a detent for said valve, and a universally -operable lever engageable with said detent and projecting through said casing.

3. A` device of the character described, comprising a casing having a bore extending therethrough, a valve for said bore, an annular flange formed on end of the'valve, a cam for opening said valve, a spring for closing said valve, a detent pivoted to the casing and engageable with said flange for locking the valve in open position, and

' means for actuating said detent to release said valve.

A. A device of vthe class described, comprising a casing having a bore extending therethrough, a valve for said bore, a detent pivoted to said `cas-ingv and engageable with said valve, and a lever contacting with and adapted to actuate the -detent, the contacting surfaces "of the lever and detent being rounded to permit universal movement ot' the"lever. l In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature.

luci-IARD BIRD.y 

